Believing in Vain

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

Every time the end of the year approaches, it initiates the moment when everyone promises that next year will be better than this current year. This is the year they will lose that weight. This is the year they will get in shape. This is the year they will find that dream job. This is the year they will find their soul mate. This is the year they will start that business. This is the year they will get out of debt. This is the year they will read the Bible. This is the year they will go back to church. This is the year! It is not long before they will realize that they said the same things last year about this time. Yet, it wasn't long into the new year before they realized they had fallen back into the same patterns they promised would change. The donuts tasted better than that salad, so the weight stayed on. That pulled muscle quickly ended the dreams of getting in shape. Receiving a few too many rejection letters halted the job search. Your online dating profile wasn't quite attracting the type of people you wanted to spend any time with, much less date.  The research, planning, finances, business structure, name registration and licensing were more than you were expecting in your effort to be an entrepreneur. The extra debt racked up during the holiday shopping season put those debt consolidation plans on hold. A few extra minutes of sleep outweighed getting up early to read passages from Genesis, the Psalms and Luke. When you discover that Sunday morning is your only chance to sleep in during the week, well, maybe I will go to church next week. How many years in a row has it been that you had made these plans for your life, only to see them fizzle out before Valentines Day? This is the definition of doing something in vain. To do something "in vain" means to do it without effect or unsuccessfully. No matter how many times we said we were going to accomplish something in our lives, we end up in the same place in life or worse. Ultimately, one must ask themselves, "Do I really want this change in my life?" or "Am I hoping by saying I want to accomplish something in my life, one day the will to do it will arrive?" The bottom line is that we really don't want to make the effort and sacrifice necessary to follow through on what we say we desire no matter what we say we want. The internal motivation is missing.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Corinth, he was concerned that the Gospel message he preached was believed in vain by the church. You almost get the sense that what he is afraid of is that they gave a verbal acknowledgment that they believed what he had said, but in reality, they either didn't understand it or just said they did knowing they would continue on the way they had always believed and lived. That is why he went on to reiterate that the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But, giving an acknowledgement of those facts and truly understanding them to the point you live a life of faith in them are two totally different things. What does believing in vain look like?  A person may say they believe in the death of Jesus Christ as meaning that all their sins are forgiven. However, when they sin, this same person will ask God to forgive them of that sin through the performance of some religious sacrifice; confession booths, keeping short accounts, etc. That is believing in vain; saying you are forgiven, but then asking God to forgive you when you sin. A person may say they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But, do they know and believe that salvation is the restoration of the life of God made possible by Christ's resurrection? You can tell they are believing in vain because they are living a life of works; trying to produce the fruit of the Spirit instead of bearing the fruit of the Spirit. This is harder to detect, but one way it shows itself is when people say that a Christian should, must or has to do something. You should, must, have to go to church. You should, must, have to give (i.e. tithe) to your church. You should, must, have to read your Bible. You should, must, have to preach the Gospel. However, what they fail to realize is that when God is living His life in and through you, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, your heart changes. When your heart changes, your behavior will soon follow. You naturally begin to want to do those things. Instead of having to go to church, you want to fellowship with like-minded believers. Instead of having to give a percentage of your income to your church, you cheerfully give of your time, treasure and talent to ministries advancing the Gospel. Instead of having to read your Bible, you want to open God's love letter to you, read it and learn everything about our Lord and His love for you. Instead of having to preach the Gospel, you make yourself available to God to be used when, where and to whatever capacity He deems necessary to use you. In short, rather than believing something in vain, what you believe will become profitable because you learn to trust and depend on the truth of what God has said and you will begin to bear His fruit in the process. The internal motivation will be found.